Making Conversation
by Bay Alexison
Summary: John finally meets Rose for the first time, only for her to be in grimdark mode.


**Author's Note: **Written for a friend's writing community at Dreamwidth and the prompt she gave me was, "John was looking for someone to grow old with. Could that person be Rose?" Not exactly too happy with the end result because of how much this story is pretty much a retelling of the 3/29_ [s]Seer: Descend _update, but it's still a good writing exercise for me for starting out Homestuck fanfiction. Hope you guys enjoy. Betaed by Farla (again, thanks!)

**Making Conversation**

When John first entered the castle, he expected to see his father there. It would be logical his dad had come to the place to examine the vast black cloud looming over it. Little did he know the cause was Rose, who'd only just arrived herself.

Meeting with Rose for the first time was a pleasant surprise. Very weird that she had turned gray and was talking in gobbledygook because of her going grimdark (he still didn't completely grasp what the word meant), but other than that, it was nice to finally talk to her in person. Eventually, John remembered he was looking for his father. He asked her to lead him to their parents, which she bleakly obliged.

When they entered one of the rooms, what greeted them were corpses, fresh blood trailing the stone floor. John was shocked. After asking Rose if Jack did this and making her aggravated, the teenage boy couldn't help but chuckle when she had a purple pillow buried in her face. It surprised him actually she had a pillow like that.

"That is a really nice pillow, by the way," he responded sweetly with a wide smile. _The pillow does match her well, in a good way_, John thought, not realizing what he had just said to himself. "It goes well with your weird dark skin and gothy ensemble."

In an instant, a thin smile spread across Rose's lips. She said something, which John assumed to be her saying "thank you". He could accept that.

"You're welcome!"

xxx

The teenagers continued going up to the castle, each step making John's pulse jump.

More blood and dead bodies were scattered around, giving John an uneasy feeling swelling inside his stomach. The smell began to make him slightly ditzy, so it was a miracle he hadn't fainted yet.

They were now getting close to the stairs that lead to the top of the castle, and John realized he and Rose hadn't spoken with one another since they saw the dead soldiers back at the hidden hall. He thought once they met together in real life they would have no trouble talking, but apparently that wasn't the case. Then again, Rose was grimdark and not able to speak clearly for the time being. Still, the silence between them drove him nuts. He cleared his throat before speaking.

"By the way, did you know that Karkat thinks we are supposed to get married?"

Rose halted, but didn't turn to face John as the young man anticipated. His shoulders became stiff and his heart drummed in slow but hard beats.

_Fuck, John, why you have to mention it?_

It seemed silly to be mentioning the talk he and Dave had with Karkat not long ago. It was too late now to take back what he had said. Not noticing the keen interest in Rose's eyes, John tried to hide his anxiety by flashing a wide smile at her.

"Wait! I hope that didn't come off as a proposal or anything!" He laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry, I'm just making conversation. I guess I am a little nervous." Another laugh. "Because technically, this is the first time we have ever met, and also, you are talking like an eldritch monster, so I'm kind of babbling. We don't actually have to get married, though." He was about to stop the conversation there, but he didn't want Rose to get the wrong idea. "I mean, not if you don't want to."

This time Rose had a blank expression. A quiet chuckle escaped from him.

"Okay, I'll shut up now."

The pair got back to going to their destination, the quietness following them. John sighed to himself, feeling tired from both the walking and not making a fool of himself towards Rose.

As John was walking, he couldn't help but wonder what it would be like if they were married. He admitted, he loved the chats they had together online and even enjoyed her company now, just her being by his side. The both of them could get along easily despite their different interests and ambitions.

_Could she be the person I want to go grow old with?_

John had been playing around with that idea once in a while, but knew he was too young to be thinking that. Besides, he hadn't been romantic with anyone yet, let alone _fallen in love_, so it was odd to jump to that conclusion with Rose.

_Heck, I'm not sure if we'll survive after this game is over. _

Still, it wouldn't hurt to hope, right? All John prayed was that his friends and he win this game and make it back to their world safe and sound.

When the teenagers finally made it to the stairs, they quickly rushed to the top. Excitement coursed through John's veins, but soon they would turn cold.


End file.
